But it's fun.

 

I'm really not trying to bandwagon on you. Your post just doesn't make any sense. And somehow I missed it during my initial read through.

1. so you're towing say 5,000 lbs at 60 mph. so your saying you should let off the gas, let the truck shift into O/D, then continue towing? why? the reason an automatic is an automatic is because there is no driver input for shifting gears except throttle position and putting it in D or O/D. The transmission should shift into O/D when its ready, not because you fool it by letting off the gas.

2. still waiting on the answer to the question Monsta asked

3. ...um a 92-96 460 with A/T has the E40D transmission and can easily tow the slight wieght of a pop up camper...I'd venture to say the Ranger could tow a pop up with 0 issues. there is no way towing one of those and using O/D caused a transmission failure. IMO, that was just coincidence

off topic: hey Monsta, you've got lots of fun looking toys. I'm getting transferred to Pearl in October and I haven't been out there since Jan 2004, but I remember the cost of living was outrageous. I'm thinkin of bringing my Mustang GT out there to sell and make a tidy little profit. And after 3 years, sell my F-150 before I go back to the mainland. I've heard the car market automatically adds a few thousand to a vehicle price. That true?

 

Mustang GT's are a dime a dozen here. You'll be able to unload it as police cars here are privately owned vehicles (as you probably remember) and GT's are very popular choices. It used to add 2K but shipping has gone down a tad. Since you can ship it free you may in fact make a few bucks off the deal. However, your truck would bring a bigger profit. FWIW, most dealer's use Texas's blackbook to determine wholesale values and KBB for selling prices.

Given gas prices (I paid 3.52 today...it's cheaper at Costco & on base) the GT would be a better choice for driving on a daily basis.

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irishammer is a good sport. I gave him to reputation points today. I sincerely hope he learns what we're trying to teach him and not think that I (or anyone else) is just out to bust his stones for the sheer pleasure of doing it. I, personally, haven't stuck around this forum for almost 6 years and not have a desire to help people.

 

This subject is important to me as I am looking at upgrading the truck from an 01 F150 SCab 4.6 with 3:31 gearing to an 05 or newer F-150 SCrew 5.4 with 3:73's.

I'll be hauling a 30 foot travel trailer 5600/7500 lbs dry/wet summer months only.

I have been looking at a Dodge QCab 1500, because of it's 5 speed auto and 32 gearing. But the rear seat is tighter than the F-150. An F-250 gasser would do the job, but they are rare here.

I have towed my trailer with the current truck with O/D off and when a tail win is there, O/D comes on. Unfortunately I do not have an RPM gauge, but towing in third does suck, tho the engine sounds it is running at its' sweet spot at 55 mph. I found with the O/D on, the tranny always went back to third, didn't hunt, just went back to third.

Since I live in the Prairies, hills are not much of a factor but the winds are. I do know to decrease the speed when going into a head wind.

So the basic questions are...

Tow with O/D when towing a TT or not?

How does the Ford 4 spd tranny compare to the Dodge's 5 speed with its Tow/Haul feature?

Is there anything specific in the owners manual about using the O/D when towing?

How does the F-150 handle the big hills like the Rockies when towing?

Thanks.

 

I wish I could ship it for free. Only 1 vehicle is for free. I got quoted over $2k to ship my truck, and "only" $1k to ship my GT. So I know which one I paying out of pocket. My plan is to sell the truck in fall 2010. It might have 30,000 miles, if even that many. Only got 13,500 right now and I'm about to deploy for 3 months. Between the low mileage, truck is loaded with all the options...I'm thinking to make a pretty huge profit when I transfer back to mainland in 2010.

WTF, I'm paying $3.45 a gallon here right now. You're telling me that gas on a island thousands of miles out in the ocean is virtually the same as stateside...pure crap...but at least I won't go into debt buying gas


okay, I'm done hijacking and being off-topic.

wish I could answer your question GaryinWpg. I haven't towed a huge load with this model truck. And to be honest, I've only used a Superduty on the big stuff.

I can say though that you can't even compare the old 4.6L to the new 5.4L 3v motor. Completely different animals. In Feb I went through the Rockies at 75 MPH with my truck loaded down (2 adults, kid, bed was full up to the top of bed) in some 40+ mph winds. I only downshifted then on the really long haul hills. I know, apples to oranges, but it's a start.

Towing 5000-7000lbs in the hills doesn't sound like fun, but the 5.4 can handle it easily. Just don't expect to get there fast and make sure your trailer brakes work really good.

 

Thanks Tylus,

Buying a new/new used truck is a serious outlay of cash. In the RVing world they say buy your tow vehicle once.

Gas here in Winnipeg is $1.19 a litre or $4.52 a U.S. gallon or $5.35 for the old Imperial gallon. But what the hay, it is all relevant. Either sit at home twiddling the thumbs and moan how expensive gas while complaining about being bored, or get out and enjoy life.!

 

I tow close to 7,000 pounds, but it is a car trailer without a lot of wind resistance. The FX4 tows it very well. The transmission does not hunt. I will occasionally turn overdrive off, but very rarely.

 

Haven't you been reading the previous posts in this thread?

Dodge's 5-speed is a 5-speed simply because it has two 2nd gear ratios. One for upshifting and another for downshifting. It's still essentially a 4-speed transmission.

You always hear about Dodge's unreliable transmissions but I cannot say anything about them since I do not have first hand knowledge.

Haven't you been reading the previous posts in this thread?

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tylus, gas prices here have traditionally been much higher than the mainland because our two refineries have been gouging the crap out of us. No matter the distance from the mainland, our prices should always be right in line with Mainland prices....especially since we have our own refineries. I wouldn't call our prices "pure crap" I would say the large, price distance between the two prior was "pure crap".

 

My buddy taught his son's to use the OD lock-out switch in his Excursion as a slow down/ downshift gear. The switch stopped working, they wore out the solenoid. Some people don't know when to leave well enough alone. Modern tranny's are very smart. More times than not, it's best to let them do the thinking. The first OD tranny's started all this. They did have to be closely monitored. Computers have changed everything.

 

I have been driving fords with overdrives since the beginning of time and have only taken it out of overdrive with a heavy load going up long hills or in the mountains.

 

Hey Monsta. Haven't noticed you for a while. Good to see you are still around.

Lots of kids who work in tranny shops don't have a clue what they are talking about. Never seems to stop them from having an opinion though.

I've been playing with my Predator tuner for the last week or so, bumping up the shift pressure for firmer shifts. I think firmer shifting with less slippage is a good way to avoid heat. Of course it also leads to reduced fuel economy due to using full throttle quite often just to feel those crisp shifts.

 

The truck doesnt start in OD when taking off....If that was the case then you would be starting off in 4 gear! I dont know why people have to make driving so hard on them self. Just drive the darn truck and if you tow a heavy trailer and your tranny keeps shifting down to 3rd then back to 4th then take it out of OD so it doesnt keep doing this. Its simple stuff people!

 

The truck doesnt start in OD when taking off....If that was the case then you would be starting off in 4 gear! I dont know why people have to make driving so hard on them self. Just drive the darn truck and if you tow a heavy trailer and your tranny keeps shifting down to 3rd then back to 4th then take it out of OD so it doesnt keep doing this. Its simple stuff people!

 

I tow in excess of 7klbs, with no issues! If when in OD and the transmission starts to hunt, take it out of OD. It's pretty simple!

Overdrive in the 4R75E transmission (5.4) is 0.70 reduction. So there is no way any trnasmission would start out in such a high ratio. The trruck would never move, and cause excessive torque convertor slip!

 

I assumed you were intelligent enough to figure out that when I said start out in OD you would know what I meant. Obviously NOT!! Of course it doesn't start out in 4th gear!! My cousin's transmission on his 1994 F-250 with the E4OD lost overdrive. The transmission repair shop told him to disable (Push the button on the shifter...for those that need explicit instructions) while taking off from a stop while towing even a pop-up. He said after you are up to speed turn OD back on and go. They are a reputable repair shop not some backwoods repair shop. The build racing transmissions for off-road trucks and drag cars. They know what they are doing. If the new tranny's are different so be it...I guess some people feel better about themselves by ripping on others. If that is how you are go for it.